Accountability
by Slea
Summary: The new president made a bad call and it was only by the grace of the Lords of Kolbal that they survived the wrath of the Cylons... will she survive the wrath of a father?


This story came from a chat room conversation egged on by a vicious little monster plotbunny covered in dust that keeps popping from under my bed and biting my ankles..  
  
Accountability  
  
By Cyndi "Slea" Smith  
  
Adama was laboring over paperwork that was stacked on his desk. Half of the stuff on his desk was now useless. It had to do with the decommissioning of the only surviving Battlestar. The other half was injury, illness and death reports from Life Station. But right now, not even that mattered; he had just had a one on one with the shuttle captain who had been piloting the newly dubbed 'Colonial One' at the time he had thought he lost his only surviving family. The man had nothing but praise for the work that both Apollo and the new President did during that time, but the whole scenario played over and over again in his mind.  
  
"You had just called her a school teacher. To be honest, we didn't know she was standing behind us at the time," he reported. "That is when I saw them, two Cylon ships coming straight for us. He put you on hold for clarification and she came up over our shoulders. At that point Apollo was set to make the jump; he was backing you 100%, but she wouldn't budge. She said she didn't want to abandon all those people."  
  
The young pilot knew something he said was the wrong thing. The commander looked as if fire could have shot from his eyes.  
  
"Captain Apollo went below right after she made that decision... I thought that maybe he was going to try and get the viper up again and try to protect us like before... although, in hindsight, I don't know what I was thinking, because it had had a total system failure. The next thing we knew, there was a great explosion but there wasn't... it was like the aftershock of an explosion hit us. Our ears popped and the ship rocked. The President went flying across the cockpit. It took nearly five minutes before we realized that we were still alive, the crippled ship was still there and the Cylons were gone. It was then we put two and two together and ran below to see where Captain Apollo had gone and if he was okay. He was just trying to pick himself up off the floor by the time we got there. He told us what he did. It was amazing. I gotta tell you, I wasn't really what you might call a religious man before I met your son, but after what he pulled off, saving our collective asses, I know what they mean by godsend. Because of him and the President, we were able to get all those stranded people off the ship and so many more. It may also be why, when he told her that we had to leave some of the ships behind the second time we were attacked, she listened. He took on a lot of responsibility when he left them behind, but he was right. At least by saving what we could, we had a chance to save our race. It was a tough decision, one I am glad I didn't have to make. I still hear those cries in the back of my mind. I just don't know how he is sleeping through the night."  
  
"It is never easy to have to make a life or death call, but it comes with the uniform," the Commander admitted. How many times had he sentenced young men and women to death because the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few?  
  
"Uniform or not, he's a good man and I am proud to have flown with him, and would do it again."  
  
Adama rose from behind his desk and extended his hand. "Well, thank you, Captain, for coming by to complete this report for me. If you need, Michael can see that you get back to your ship. It's easy to get lost onboard, even when you're in the service."  
  
The newly assigned Captain of Colonial One smiled and exited the room and met the desk officer, who awaited him outside. This left the Commander plenty of time to stew in his juices. He sat behind his desk for nearly an hour before a light on his com came on.  
  
"Commander, President Roslyn is here to see you, sir."  
  
"Tell her to wait there. I will be with her in a minute," he acknowledged before he placed the decommissioning papers in the file next to his desk.  
  
He sat staring at the door for nearly 5 minutes before he gave the okay to let the President enter his office.  
  
"Commander, I wanted to speak to you about a few things that I believe we need to get done before we go any further..." she chirped  
  
"Yes, and I need to speak to you about a few things as well." He signaled her to the seat across from his desk and stared at her over his small- framed glasses.  
  
"I have been going over the reports on the incident onboard the ship that is now referred to as Colonial One," he said calmly  
  
"And what incident was that, Commander?"  
  
"The countermanding of my orders to Captain Adama," he informed her.  
  
"I was fully within my rights as President to do what I did," she huffed. "Teacher or not, I know the rules of the game and how it is played."  
  
"Yes, you were fully within your rights to countermand my authority, if you had a plan that would have guaranteed the safety of your passengers and crew. And if Captain Adama had not obeyed those orders, he could very well have been brought up on mutiny charges. So tell me, Madam President, what was your better plan? Why did you counter my orders?"  
  
"We were trying to protect the stranded vessel."  
  
"With what? What were you going to do, Madam President? Throw computers at them? You were on an unarmed vessel. The only military vessel in your area was broken down in your cargo bay. Your actions should have cost the lives of two ships full of innocents, instead of just one ship."  
  
"But it didn't cost any."  
  
"IT WAS PURE DUMB LUCK, MADAM PRESIDENT!" he yelled. "Your actions had nothing to do with the survival of those people. You're only alive because Captain Adama nearly killed himself saving your ass."  
  
"That's enough! I don't have to listen..."  
  
"SIT DOWN, MISS ROSLYN!"  
  
She slowly sunk back down in her chair.  
  
"Because of what you did, I watched my only surviving son blown to hell. It was not the Cylons, Madam President, but you, who had the advantage. At the time those ships were sighted, you had plenty of time to jump."  
  
"Your son ..."  
  
"My son was told by his commander to return to the Galactica. You countered those orders; the only weapon on that whole ship was on his hip. Did you know what he was thinking when he left the cockpit? What did you think he was going to do? Did you know he had that trick up his sleeve? From my reports, even Apollo wasn't sure what he did would work. No, Madam President, I want to know why you were so willing to kill my son; and all those others under your protection."  
  
By this time Laura's eyes had watered up, but the Commander had faced many a tear-filled eye. "You are now the ultimate power in this fleet, at least from the civilian stand point. You are accountable for how you choose to use these powers. People will live and die by your word. My son is a colonial warrior, everything he does puts him in danger. He should not have to die because someone else doesn't care if she lives or dies."  
  
Her eyes flashed as if she was angry, but she held her tongue.  
  
"I know about the cancer, Madam President. All reports, including medical reports, pass through my hands. Now I want to know, are you here to fight?" He waited for a reply but all he got was a silent sob. "My son seems to trust you, Miss Roslyn. He speaks highly of you and all you did for the protection of the civilians you rescued. Have you asked yourself why you changed your mind? What made you listen to my son when you found yourself in a similar situation hours later? My son saved your life, Miss Roslyn. Was it worth it? I will not place civilians under your control if you are not willing to fight for your life, as well as theirs. My son thought you were worth the fighting for, twice. Tell me Laura....are you willing to fight with us...for us...for yourself?" 


End file.
